<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Fighting Fire Emblem Boyfriends by meme_tortoise</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972502">Fighting Fire Emblem Boyfriends</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meme_tortoise/pseuds/meme_tortoise'>meme_tortoise</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crime Fighting, Developing Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Fyp, Sexy, just kidding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:21:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meme_tortoise/pseuds/meme_tortoise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Original Characters from the fan made Fire Emblem: Three Houses house the Iris Serpents discuss how Emmeline “E” interacts with their canon character boyfriends (it’s not great)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Claude von Riegan/Original Female Character(s), Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Original Female Character(s), Ferdinand von Aegir/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The House of The Iris Serpents</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. We’re just getting started babey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Fan made oc’s include:<br/>Juliette - (AO3: @sxrensxng)<br/>Lilac - (AO3: @gigiometry)<br/>Paulina - (No AO3)<br/>Hayashi - (No AO3)</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Members of the iris serpents, a fan made fire emblem three houses house discuss Emmeline “E” Von Minaj’s interactions with their canon character boyfriends (not great)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fan made oc’s include:<br/>Juliette - (AO3: @sxrensxng)<br/>Lilac - (AO3: @gigiometry)<br/>Paulina - (No AO3)<br/>Emmeline - me 😩<br/>Hayashi - (No AO3)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Members of the Iris Serpents were strewn around Lady Paulinas bedroom. Lina and Jay were laying on the bed, Lilac sitting in the desk chair and Emmeline lying along the windowsill, legs propped up along the frame. It was a beautiful evening, and the girls were halfway through a study session. </p><p>“E, are you listening? This stuff is important, you know.” Juliette’s voice turned Emmeline’s attention away from passersby outside, “Can you tell me the most tactical formation for a fight where you’re outnumbered?” Shifting her weight from her kneeling position to a cross legged one. Juliette had a lot of patience, especially with E, but was obviously starting to get inconvenienced with her lack of attention. </p><p>E threw her head back in an attempt to brush the question off nonchalantly. This ended with a loud thud and equally loud groan from E. “I don’t know, square? Why do I need to know this stuff anyway,” she swung her legs off the ledge and into the room, then stood up, “if I see any bad guys, I just start swinging!” She grabbed a dagger from her belt that looked awfully similar to Hayashi’s, and started whipping it around the room.</p><p>The room was full of giggles now and any studying had gone out the window. The tactical discussion was replaced with random chit chat. Eventually, Lilac perked up “I’m so sorry to cut this short, but me and Ferdinand have a chess game scheduled this evening and I’d hate to miss it.” There was a childish ooh and more giggles as Lilac sat, flustered. </p><p>E was now sitting criss-cross on the floor. “Ugh, you guys and your boyfriends,” she complained, eyes rolling back and arms crossing in front of her, “I ought to give them a piece of my mind.” This was followed by three disapproving looks. </p><p>“E, you already have. And I don’t think it went well for any of the bachelors in question,” said Lina. At this point E has gotten up and was on the bed, lying with her hands perpendicular to her body, stuck in the air. “Are you even listening?” She had a hint of humor in her voice, but the stern tone was enough to get her attention.</p><p>“Yeah I remember, I don’t think what I did was so bad,” E held her hands up to her face, studying her nails, “I simply told them what they needed to know.” </p><p>Lilac hesitated for a moment, then sat back down. “I’m sure I can spare a few moments, I haven’t heard of an interaction between you and Ferdinand regarding me!” Juliette and Lina glanced at each other, but E had already risen, preparing to tell her story. </p><p>***flashback***</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. E meets Ferdinand (:<</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>E recalls her first interaction with Ferdinand aside from Academy introductions</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fan made oc’s include:<br/>Juliette - (AO3: @sxrensxng)<br/>Lilac - (AO3: @gigiometry)<br/>Paulina - (No AO3)<br/>Emmeline - me 😩</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emmeline was making her way to the training grounds, spinning her relic around her hand and fingers. Her relic was truly a sight to behold. It was a trident that appeared to be made of ancient bone, and it was surprisingly upkept. The handle was fitted with leather for an easy grip, in battle or fooling around at the monastery. </p><p>A churchgoer turned down the path she was on, and immediately turned around and walked the other way. She was not scared of an intentional attack from E, rather an unintentional one. E was coordinated and surprisingly good at whipping that giant fork around. However, far too many people had witnessed her accidental self harm with various weapons around the monastery. Everyone except Ferdinand, apparently, who had invited her to spar at the training grounds.</p><p>When she walked in, he was already waiting there, sparring with prince Dimitri. She spun a clean 180° on her heel and began to strut out, catching the attention of Ferdinand, “Wait! Lady Emmeline!” E stopped, turned to face him again, but much slower this time. Ferdinand winced, as this was one of the rare moments he saw her with a deadpan expression. “You seem to have a partner already, so I will be taking my leave,” she said.</p><p>He had heard many tales of Emmeline “E” Von Minaj from Lilac. “You can’t let her energetic disposition fool you,” he remembered her saying, “if you say something she doesn't like, she’ll change her attitude faster than a wyvern rider leaving a bear cave.” He cringed as he remembered what she followed with, “and never call her by her full name. I’d be surprised if you live after doing that.”</p><p>E glanced up at Dimitri while Ferdinand stared at the ground, then turned to try and vacate the premises. This snapped him back to reality, prompting him to lunge in her direction, attempting to grab her hand. This was followed by a quick clash of weapons. In response to the quick motion from Ferdinand, she launched at him with her relic. He had attempted to defend himself but it was no use, one hand axe was no match for the three prongs on her trident. The attack would’ve been fatal if it wasn’t for the intervention from his highness. His lance and E’s trident were intertwined, keeping it from impaling the future prime minister. </p><p>This altercation was followed by dead silence. If this was a dramatic movie scene, the dust would’ve cleared, revealing an intertwined axe, spear and trident, each being held by a seemingly surprised teenager. Ferdinand pulled his axe back, but Dimitri and E lingered for a moment, he was still using his spear to stop the trident from hitting Ferdinand, and E was glaring daggers into the redhead. </p><p>“E, pull back.” The staring contest had ended with Ferdinand, and had now begun with Dimitri. She lingered for a second more, then pulled back, bringing her weapon to her side. The air was tense and the room was an uncomfortable warm temperature, which wasn’t really helping the situation. </p><p>E broke the silence, turning to face Ferdinand once more. “I’ll be honest with you, since it appears most people are not. I do not like you. I have no desire to be your friend, and I’m tired of you overstepping boundaries because you believe it’s your noble duty.” She sheathed her weapon to put finger quotes on the ending of her statement. </p><p>Ferdinand, looking in a state of shock, opened his mouth to try and speak, but E cut him off, “No, I’m not done. I don’t know what Lilac sees in you, honestly, but I know she’s too sweet to tell you when you’re doing something she doesn’t like. I am not Lilac. I want to make it abundantly clear, Ferdinand von Aegir,” her mocking tone echoing through the hall, “if you hurt any of my friends, any Iris Serpent, especially Lilac, and I hear of it? Edelgard is going to need to find a new Prime Minister.” </p><p>Dimitris eyes were wide with shock, and even Ferdinand couldn't maintain his calm, collected attitude. His mouth was practically on the floor, and E noticed this. Her lips curled into a devilish smile, “I've spoken with Bernadetta a few times, I’m sure she’d be honored to have the position.” She brought her hands up, studying her nails, smile unwavering. She slowly turned her head up toward the boys, one hand falling to her side as the other was carefully placed on her hip. Her expression was that of disappointment, no… disapproval, he thought. </p><p>“I would never, Lady…” he paused quickly, studying her face. “E.” Her face didn’t change, but he also wasn’t stabbed with a trident, so he continued. “It would never be my intention to hurt your or any of your friends. I-” He was cut off by E, “Great, then I hope to not see you around anymore,” She reached her hand out toward Dimitri as she said this. He moved closer to her, sheathing his spear and offering his arm. She took it and spun around to the door for a final time. Before they moved to leave, she turned her head over her shoulder, but her expression changed drastically. </p><p>As Ferdinand studied her face, she seemed to be back to her cheerful, normal self. She used her free hand to give an over exaggerating Princess wave and said “Bye bye!” before practically dragging Dimitri out of the doors. </p><p>Ferdinand was left there alone, a shocked expression still glued to his face. When he asked her to spar, he was hoping for a smoother interaction, to say the least. He listened to Lilac talk about how much of a fun, caring person she was frequently, so he was not prepared for that in the slightest. “Goodness…” he mumbled to himself, finally, unable to muster up anything else. </p><p>***return to present day***</p><p>Lilac was staring at E, a shocked expression plastered on her face after hearing the story. E glanced over and began to giggle, “Hey you look like Ferdinand right now!” The girls started laughing, and E stood up and made her way to the desk, sitting next to Lilac atop the desk. “Oh, E, but why would you scare him? He really has no malicious intent, I'm sure!” Lilac said, and E looked at her for a few moments before crossing one leg over the other and leaning back into the desk.</p><p>E paused for a moment to think. She was never one for speaking her emotions into existence, as she was told that it was not something for noblewomen to do. Actions on the other hand? They were like a form of love language for her, so she was confused when her action seemed to have an initial negative response. </p><p>She gave a disappointed “hmmmm” before answering, “Better to scare him first and have nothing happen, then becoming a war criminal to the empire after something happens and I kill him, right?” Juliette gave her a look crossed between disapproval and annoyance. Lina saw this and started howling with laughter again. “On the bright side!” E continued, “that was the worst of the three of them!” Lina wiped away a tear from the aggressive laughter and spoke up, “Tell the Sylvain one next, before Lilac has to leave!” Lilac turned to face E, “There’s more?!” E stood up and walked over to a stack of books near the door, sitting on top, “Oh there is so many, but let’s discuss my lovely time with Sulvain.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. It’s Sylvain Hours... (not for long)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylvain gets his sheet rocked by Emmeline</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fan made oc’s include:<br/>Juliette - (AO3: @sxrensxng)<br/>Lilac - (AO3: @gigiometry)<br/>Paulina - (No AO3)<br/>Emmeline - me 😩</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>E and Hilda emerged from the dining hall, walking to the edge of the balcony. The wooden fence was the only barrier between you and a medium sized drop down. E leaned over the edge, debating jumping over the side. Hilda grabbed her arm and yanked her two feet over, presenting the stairs down. “Don’t be silly, the stairs are right here.” </p><p>E stretched her head to try and see over the edge again, “yeah but that looks more fu-” She couldn’t even finish her sentence before Hilda dragged her down the stairs, E giggling along the way. When they arrived at the bottom, they made their way around the lake and past the gatekeeper (my beloved). However, just as they were about to round the corner, they heard a familiar voice. Hilda kept walking but E stopped, grabbing Hilda to stay hidden with her. </p><p>They were catching the tail end of a conversation between Sylvain Jose Gautier and some random woman. This was not uncommon for him, but it didn’t stop E from switching to full homicide mode. Her expression dropped, and now the girls were listening to what he had to say. They were giving him one last shred of hope before tearing him to shreds.</p><p>“I just think your handiwork is gorgeous! I mean, where I’m from, prices would be through the roof.” The girl giggled and E cringed. She didn’t know the context, but it was Sylvain, so it can’t be too innocent. He continued, “I’d love it if you could set me up with one, it’s for something really important.” He winked at the girl and she giggled again, then nodded before running away flustered. </p><p>Hilda and E exchanged one last look before E emerged from their hiding place. At this point in the school year, people had noticed Sylvain talking up less and less girls, and sticking with just one. While most people began to applaud his graduation from being a man whore, E didn’t buy it. Most of the Iris Serpents didn’t, especially since their beloved Juliette was the girl Sylvain was talking with. E and Juliette had an… interesting relationship, to say the least. Although they didn’t really meet until they came to the Officers Academy, they act like they’ve known each other for much longer. The beautiful dynamic consists of E knowing just what to say to fluster and annoy Juliette, and Juliette knows exactly how to shut E down if she’s about to snap. Unfortunately, Juliette was not here, and Hilda didn’t stop her from approaching the house heir. </p><p>“Sylvain!” E caught him by surprise, and he glanced around before turning to see her. You honestly can’t get more suspicious then glancing around.</p><p>“Juliette isn’t with you, is she?” He slided over to the wall, in an attempt to shield himself from any passerby. When he looked back at E her face was mixed with disgust and pure shock. Dimitri had described him as a “skirt chaser” but to think he’d have such little dignity. “What?” He asked, almost with genuine confusion.</p><p>E’s expression hardened into full blown anger now. She wasn’t carrying her trident, but she needed a weapon of some kind. Her eyes shot around quickly, then fell upon a glass bottle lying near her feet. Without breaking eye contact with him, she reached down, grabbed the bottle by the neck, and slammed the side against the wall, shattering the bottom half of the bottle. </p><p>This startled the redhead, and he stumbled back a few inches. E raised the hand made shank up in his direction, “Who do you think you are?? I’m lucky to have the luxury of barley speaking to you, but Juliette has not.” Sylvain continued to inch back, but now he was pressed against some scaffolding, no exit in sight. E continued, “I’m tired of hearing about you! Do you know how often Juliette talks about how kind and considerate you are?? I can’t believe she didn’t see through this charade.”</p><p>Following that, Sylvains face switched from scared to almost… happy? “Wait, she talks about me?” He was smirking as he said this, and E was seconds away from lunging at him before she heard someone yell, followed by someone grabbing her waist. </p><p>In a matter of seconds, she was yanked backwards, dropping the bottle. Juliettes “Wait!” echoed through the air as the rest of the bottle shattered. She looked down and saw hands wrapped around her waist as Juliette ran up next to her. She looked up and saw Prince Dimitri holding her back, and she relaxed into his arms. </p><p>Juliette, on the other hand, was not relaxed in the slightest, “E, Sylvain what happened!? I was just having lunch and Hilda came and told me Sylvain had died?!” She was frantic and her breathing heavy, most likely because they sprinted to get here. </p><p>“Yeah, almost” grumbled E, obviously disappointed she couldn't finish the job. She was glaring daggers into Sylvain as Juliette walked over to him, to make sure he was alright. This irritated E, prompting her to raise her voice again, “I think you should explain yourself to her, before I do!” Juliette was reaching for him as she said this, then hesitated, very much confused. She knew E wouldn’t just attack him unprompted, but she didn’t believe that he would do something to prompt being shanked. She looked up at him and he winced, looking away. </p><p>There was an excruciatingly long silence, at least for E, and she finally perked up, “That womanizer was talking up another girl!” If the silence was bad before, god damn this was 10 times worse. </p><p>“Sylvain…” Juliettes voice was quiet now. E wouldn’t lie to her, and he wasn’t helping his case by just sitting there taking it. </p><p>“It’s not bad, at all, I just can’t…” he stopped again, thinking of his words carefully. He glanced over at E, and if looks could kill hers would have burned down the monastery by now. “I was going to surprise you with something, but I guess it’s out of the bag now.” He moved his hand to the back of his head, the other on his hip, looking incredibly flustered. </p><p>E, on the other hand, looked incredibly confused. Her eyes moved back and forth as she recalled his conversation. “You said, ‘where I’m from, prices would be through the roof,’!” She shot back at him. </p><p>Sylvain started laughing, causing E to try and recoil, she was met with Dimitri, who was still wrapped around her waist. “Yeah, prices for jewelry, not prostitution, my goodness, E!” Everyone was laughing now, and E was red. She turned 180° around and shoved her flushed face straight into Dimitris chest. “I don’t want you to think I’d ever hurt Juliette, E, it’s obvious you care about your friendship a lot.  </p><p>After a dramatic sigh, E turned around slowly, still glaring at Sylvain, “I’m sorry I tried to kill you,” there was a pause, followed by a quiet “...this time.” She glanced down at her hand, and noticed a few cuts from the bottle. She looked up and saw Juliette talking and giggling with Sylvain again.</p><p>E’s lips curled into a frown, and Dimitri saw this. ”I know you care about your friend, but he’s not as bad as you think he is, Princess,” his voice was low, so only she could hear. Her eyes fell back down to her hand and Dimitris followed, “we should take you to the infirmary so Manuela can clean it, it doesn’t hurt does it?” He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his face to study the damage. </p><p>She blushed and tried to pull it away, brushing it off, “Come on, I've gotten worse than this before.” She turned her head toward the ground, still flustered. She couldn’t cover her face with her hands, and he was still holding her wrist up. He saw this and gave a small laugh before starting to drag her to the infirmary, leaving Juliette and Sylvain. </p><p>Just before they turned the corner, however, someone slammed into E, hugging her from behind. She turned her head to see Juliette, who seemed to have recovered from the situation already. “Thank you, E, really. Just please don’t try to kill your peers anymore, pleaseeee!” </p><p>They giggled and E replied with a light hearted “I’ll try best, loca.” Juliette detached from her shoulders and ran back over to Sylvain, and E continued to walk with Dimitri. </p><p>***back to reality***</p><p>The girls were all laughing again, and E had made her way over to the nightstand in the mists of the story, sitting atop. “I still can’t believe you were going to hurt him! Good thing Hilda came and got us.” </p><p>Juliette was reclined back into the array of pillows on the bed, a smile on her face. “I was going to do much more than hurt him, loca.” E chimed in, studying her nails again. </p><p>The girls smiled, and Lilac perked up “What did he end up giving you?” Juliette sat up straight, and removed a beautiful silver necklace from under her collar, prompting another childish ooh from the girls. </p><p>E stood up once more and made her way over to the window, looking out. “Thankfully, my first informal interaction with Claude went much better than those. This peaked Linas attention, and she shifted to face the window. </p><p>“I don’t think I’ve heard this one! Claude has spoken about hanging out with you but never a first interaction.” Lina was sitting up straight, obviously a little nervous. Perfectly reasonable after hearing the last two stories. </p><p>“Beautiful!” Said E, launching herself up onto the sill, swinging her legs back up to mirror how she was beginning the first story. “Let’s begin then, shall we?” Her face was adorned with a devilish smirk as she began her last story of the night.</p><p>***flashback 3 babey***</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Surprisingly Nice Time with Claude</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>E and Claude have a decent interaction, surprisingly</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fan made oc’s include:<br/>Juliette - (AO3: @sxrensxng)<br/>Lilac - (AO3: @gigiometry)<br/>Paulina - (No AO3)<br/>Emmeline - me 😩</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>E was trailing in the back of the crowd as the Golden Deer house made their way down the dirt road. The house was assigned to deal with some bandits by a nearby village, and they asked E to tag along. Manuela was walking in the front with Claude and Hilda, and the rest of the classmates walked behind them. Then, a few feet back was E, walking with her head facing the ground, unusually quiet. </p><p>Claude paused for a moment and looked behind him to address the class, “We’re just outside the village now, so we’re going to split into pairs to take on each group of bandits. We have a lot of ground to cover!” </p><p>After he said that, small groups in the class formed, there were friendly pairs like Maryann and Hilda, Ignatz and Raphael. Then there were the groups that didn’t really mix well, like Leonie and Lorenz, and Lysethia and Manuela. However, as E studied the groups, there was something missing that she couldn’t put her finger on. That is, until she heard someone yell her name. Her eyes followed the voice until they locked with Claude, and she reluctantly walked toward him. </p><p>“Y’know, from what I’ve heard you’re usually more energetic, is everything ok?” He did sound genuinely concerned, so E paused for a moment. </p><p>She looked back up at him with a weak smile, “Yeah, sorry, I was up all night with Lina and my social timer is kinda kaput.” The groups began to split up in their respective directions, and E and Claude began to weave through bushes. </p><p>“Can I ask you to elaborate on what a social timer is?” Claude had a nice way of speaking, he wasn’t overusing formalities like other nobles at the school, but he had a certain respect behind his voice. It was incredibly easy for E to start talking again. </p><p>“One can only be social for so long. I’ve spent my entire night with Lina, and she’s lovely but I can only talk about sword tactics for so long.” Her tone was lighthearted but she could tell that Claude had given his full attention when he heard mention of Lina. E noticed this, and was about to address it, but a yell from the village diverted her attention. </p><p>They unsheathed their weapons and sprinted toward the town. When they made it, they realized they walked directly into a battle. Lorenz was passed out on the ground, and Leone was struggling to fend off the rest of the bandits surrounding them. E and Claude ran to shield them from any more attacks. “Hurry, Leonie, try and drag Lorenz into the forest, just for a little bit of cover. Good luck!” After speaking with Claude, Leonie's attitude seemed to change. His positive encouragement gave her the strength she needed to take Lorenz to safety (unfortunately).</p><p>The newest issue, however, was that E and Claude were surrounded and very much outnumbered. They reversed, standing back to back to assess the workload. “I’ll take this half, you take the rest. Good luck, and don’t die!” Although E wasn’t as good of a pep talker as Claude, the point got across and they lunged in opposite directions. </p><p>The singing clash of the weapons filled the air like a deadly symphony. E was swinging her trident relatively gracefully, in comparison to her usual clumsiness around the school, and had taken out most of the bandits on her side. She didn’t have a chance to turn and check on Claude before she heard something hit the ground behind her. She whipped around after knocking the last bandit to his knees. </p><p>Her eyes widened as she saw Failnaight, Claude's bow, lying at her feet. Her head shot up to see Claude knocked down, a bandit towering over him. He was holding his bow arm in pain, and didn’t have another weapon on him. The bandit brought his axe over his head, and Claude barley had time to move away before it came crashing down. </p><p>“E! I need you to shoot him! There’s an arrow on the ground, please!” He was trying to hold it together but he was much too far for E to make it in time on foot, compared to the speed of an arrow with his relic. </p><p>She dropped her relic, picked up the bow and a stray arrow, and notched it. Her hands were shaking, and the bandit was raising his axe for another swing. E pulled her arm back as far as she could, tried to steady her grip, and let go. </p><p>The arrow flew through the air, whistling from the speed. E and Claude stood, stunned at the power. It was a one in a million shot, E had managed to not meet those standards at all. The arrow hit the tree Claude was now backed against, almost taking his head off. </p><p>The bandit faltered, shocked, then regained his stance and raised his axe one last time. Claude closed his eyes and yelled to E, “Tell Lina I'm sorry I missed our flight” and closed his eyes, prepared to fall to a lowly bandit. However, they were opened again when the sound of weapons clattering rang out. He opened his eyes and saw the bandit, unconscious, with his axe and Failnaight lying by his side. E was standing about 30 feet back.</p><p>As soon as she saw he was ok she ran over and looked at his arm. “I’m so glad you’re ok! Sorry I missed the shot, archery isn’t exactly my forte.” They laughed it off, and she picked up the bow and handed it to Claude. </p><p>“How did you knock him out? There’s no way your trident was able to fly that far, was there?” Claude looked extremely puzzled, still clutching his hurt arm while holding his bow with the other. </p><p>E paused, debating telling him, finally she gave it up. “Uhhh…. I may or may not have thrown your bow at him…” After hearing this, Claude was visibly shocked. He brought his bow up to his face to look for any scratches or dents in the material. “We should probably start to regroup and head back, we can discuss it on the way back.” She was very eager to change the subject. </p><p>They walked in silence for a while, once the group was back together, and the trek to the monastery began. E and Claude were tailing the group, making sure no one fell behind. Finally, E broke the silence. “You like Lina.” It was blunt and to the point, and Claude was a little taken aback. </p><p>“Is that alright with you? I’ve heard of your… altercations with other bachelors around the monastery.” Claude was, again, speaking very genuinely, and this made E comfortable speaking with him. </p><p>“I’ll make you a deal, Claude,” she was mocking herself now, “if you can help me learn to shoot a bow, then I’ll spare your dating life.” Claude smiled, and opened his mouth to speak, but E cut him off, “Also, if Lina tells me anything happened by your hand, I’ll kill you. No questions asked. Got it?”</p><p>Claude laughed. “You’re exactly how they described you, E. Absolutely, it'd be my honor to teach you archery.” E smiled at this, but then caught something in his statement. </p><p>“They?” She echoed, “who else has spoken of me?” She watched Claude wince, clearly realizing he’d slipped up. He turned to see her face, lips curling down into a frown and facing forward. </p><p>His eyes widened slightly, “Oh it’s nothing bad don’t worry! Dimitri has simply spoken highly of you before.” This caught E’s attention, and she let out a small sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, E, I’m sure you’re going to have an amazing time at Garreg Mach.” They exchanged smiles and continued to make their way back. </p><p>***back to reality whoop***</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A banger finale (probably)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>E’s social timer runs out and she dips lmao</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>E, surprisingly, was still lying in the window frame. However, she shifted her weight so her back was flat along the bottom and her legs were up the side. She was staring out at the sunset now, but she turned her head when Juliette spoke up. </p><p>“I think it’s obvious who the favorite is!” The girls snickered and Lina chimed in right after. </p><p>“Yeah, The only person who didn’t get a death threat.” The girls were laughing harder now, but E was quiet as she turned her head back out the window. </p><p>Lilac noticed first and spoke up, “Doing alright, E? We didn’t want to make you feel bad! We appreciate the thoughtfulness, really!” The other girls agreed and E swung her legs out the window and out into open air, studying the sunset. Finally, she turned around and jumped down into the room. </p><p>“No, don’t worry, I’m just tired. I think I’m gonna depart for now, ladies.” As she finished, she did a weak curtesy and left the room.</p><p>Eventually, she found herself standing in the dormitory hallway put aside for noble lineage. Specifically, outside of the room of Prince Dimitri. She didn’t even knock before opening the door and walking inside. </p><p>Dimitri was lying on his bed reading a book, and looked up when the door opened. When he saw who it was, he smiled and went back to reading. She slipped off her shoes and sat down at the foot of the bed. Following, she flopped over and layed next to him. They didn’t talk, they weren’t even touching. The room was simply full of vibes and nothing else.</p><p>Eventually she flipped around to lie in his direction, and he took one hand off of his book and put it under her head. She shifted to lie comfortably as he continued to read.</p><p>After a fun day of recalling her past quarrels with her friends' boyfriends, she was drained. There was something relaxing about drifting off to sleep in a prince's arms, she thought. Then her eyes shot open and she recalled her thought. A prince’s arms… she was dating a prince. </p><p>Her eyes were wide as she thought about what that meant for her future. Dimitri glanced down and saw her face. Smirking, he joked “What, did you miss any death threats today, your highness?” He would mock her with the title, but it hit a little deeper this time. </p><p>Not deep enough apparently, because E brushed it off and responded with a lighthearted, “Yeah, yours.” Then twisted into a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>